Buying land

Hi everybody! I'm a first time poster, but I've been reading and lurking on here for years. I've learned a lot and now I'm looking to take the plunge and buy some vacant land.

The property I'm looking at is 18 acres, with a seasonal creek running though it from the northeast corner to the southeast corner. The creek itself takes up approximately 1.5 acres of the property. It's only about 50 miles north of where I'm currently located and is basically the same environment: desert, low rainfall, winter snowfall, 200+ days of sunshine.

I'm hoping this amazing community can help me out, what types of questions I ought to ask about this property, what are other things I need to know in order to make the most informed decision possible?